CHICAGO - Even billionaires have to drum up sales once in a while.
Mega-developer Donald Trump came to Chicago Thursday to hype his new residential high-rise amid what he said is a sluggish housing market. At a news conference, he also took swipes at a competing skyscraper project, the Chicago Spire, and at his celebrity nemesis, talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell.
The Trump International Hotel & Tower will rise 92 stories along the Chicago River, about ... [full story]

Local company to research and develop technology to recycle advanced batteries used in hybrid, electric vehicles for Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler
The United States Council for Automotive Research’s (USCAR) Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP), composed of DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company and General Motors Corporation, recently awarded a contract to OnTo Technology LLC of Bend, Ore., to research and develop technology to recycle advanced batteries used in hybrid and electric vehicles.
The research will involve two kinds of advanced battery ... [full story]

Harriman Award is First-Ever Recognition for the Short Line Company. Locomotive Engineer James Armstrong is also nominated for the Hammond Award.
RailAmerica, Inc., a leading operator of regional and short line railroads, stood proud May 17 as its Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad (CORP) accepted the Silver E.H. Harriman Award for an impeccable safety record in 2006. It was the first time a RailAmerica road won a Harriman honor.
The E.H. Harriman Memorial Award was ... [full story]

When the new postal rates went into effect, consumers and businesses might have felt as if they were traveling through another dimension - a dimension not only of weight and distance but also of shape.
That's because the U.S. Postal Service instituted a new pricing system that focuses on the shape of an item rather than just its weight.
While mailing a standard 1-ounce letter now costs an additional 2 cents, sending an odd-shaped postcard ... [full story]

Time was, if you wanted a jar of organic peanut butter, you'd have to travel to a small mom-and-pop shop operated by a true believer, most likely dressed in Birkenstocks and hemp clothing.
No longer.
The natural grocery business has gone mainstream, and you can find that organic peanut butter as well as organic milk and juice as easily at large gorcery chain stores as you can at the local organic co-op. Large grocery chains ... [full story]

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal court ruled in favor of Google in its appeal of a U.S. copyright lawsuit over the display of thumbnail images of nude photographs.
Perfect 10, an adult publishing company, sued Google in 2004 for displaying miniature pictures of nude photographs in search results, The Washington Post said Thursday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco ruled that the thumbnails have a function different from that ... [full story]

At a time when most U.S. airlines are boxcars with wings treating passengers like freight, Hawaiian Airlines must be doing something wrong.
Its airport counter agents greet you with a smile. They're willing to check you in the old-fashioned way if you don't want to tussle with a touch-screen terminal. Gate agents seem happy, not harried. Flight attendants aren't grumpy or bored and do not bad-mouth the bosses. You get real food with a choice ... [full story]

In an effort to represent the growing and changing needs of the Central Oregon community, the board of directors for Cascade Healthcare Community (CHC), parent company for St. Charles Bend and St. Charles Redmond and their affiliated services, has elected two new members to help lead and shape the future of the organization.Orthopedic surgeon, Knute Buehler, MD, has devoted more than 10 years to caring for the Bend and Redmond communities. As a current member ... [full story]

Under a stipulated settlement agreement with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, the licensee of Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill & Saloon (FCOM), 190 E. Cascade, sisters, agreed to pay a $2,145 civil penalty by May 24 or serve a 13-day suspension (May 29) for violating ORS 471.360(1)(b). The licensee permitted three employees to sell, mix, or serve alcohol – or supervise those who do – without service permits. The licensee is Bronco Billy’s Ranch Grill & ... [full story]

Hardy Myers Calls Anheuser-Busch Irresponsible For Its Marketing Tactics Targeting Youth
Attorney General Hardy Myers this week criticized Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. for producing and promoting alcohol energy drinks containing caffeine and other stimulants. Citing serious health concerns, Attorney General Myers called on the company to provide readable warning labels that alert consumers about the health risks posed by these products.
In a letter to Anheuser-Busch, Oregon’s Attorney General, along with 27 other state Attorneys General, ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. – HMI, parent company of Brian’s Cabinets and Evergreen Cabinets and Closets, announced today that it has begun construction on a new, 10,000 square foot building that will house state-of-the-art showrooms for both of its cabinet lines as well as its service center. The Company expects the showrooms to be open to the public in the first quarter of 2008.
“Our business has grown and so has the need for additional space to ... [full story]

Oregon production has declined 30 percent in past five years Within a month, Oregon strawberries are expected to be ready for harvest, unofficially marking the beginning of the growing season. But for the state's strawberry industry, competition and other factors have left production at a fraction of what it once was. Niche marketing for both processed and fresh fruit is keeping the commodity alive, but it will probably never return to its glory days.
Oregon producers are ... [full story]

Twenty-five years ago lattes and cappuccinos were mostly the purview of trendy coffee houses in cities like New York and San Francisco.
Now they've hit the mainstream.
Not Starbucks. The real mainstream.
Think McDonald's, Jack in the Box and Dunkin' Donuts.
With demand for coffee-based beverages soaring, fast-food chains and convenience stores are looking to get their piece of the lucrative business - and even increase demand for specialty drinks by making them more available. ... [full story]